Frank Chung, MD, was among the 52 students who graduated from NYU Grossman School of Medicine early on April 3 to join the workforce to help treat people with 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). On May 20, he was able to celebrate with the entire Class of 2020 in another virtual ceremony.

“All those people who helped form me and helped me grow as a clinician and just as a human … knowing so many of them were struggling, I felt an obligation to at least contribute,” he says.

Steven B. Abramson, MD, executive vice president and vice dean for education, faculty, and academic affairs, was one of a number of administrators who addressed the Class of 2020 during the virtual ceremony. He noted the how much courage it took for those 52 students to graduate early.

“It made us really proud of these young people,” Dr. Abramson says. “We’re going to tell them how well-prepared they are to make a difference, and they will have an opportunity to be part of the group of physicians that turns the tide” of the pandemic.

Read more from the New York Daily News.